MANmagazine Turbo 1/2015

man magazine 1/2015
In times of continuously rising energy
costs and efficiency focus, a new
generation of gas turbines offers flexible
solutions for applications worldwide.
Local Hero
Starting up in late summer 2013 at the Solvay
plant in Rheinberg (above), the first custom-tailored
MGT gas turbine package has proven itself an
innovative and reliable power generation system.
Photos: MAN
D
ecentralized energy production
to supplement or even
replace dependence on conventional
power grid infrastructures has certainly
been on the minds and drawing boards
of engineering experts for a while. Yet as Germany
currently debates how to best implement
its consensus-built energy transition
process, including some passionate controversy
over the construction of high-voltage power
line corridors to transfer wind-generated
power from the North to the economically
booming South, both the public and private
sectors increasingly engage in efforts to increase
their independence.
While solar panels on the roof and a biogas
plant down the road might alleviate communal
dependency on a conventional infrastructure,
the demands of industrial manufacturing
and other production plants like breweries,
paper plants, food processing plants and agricultural
green house production facilities
necessitate a continuous, reliable and highvolume
power supply to operate efficiently —
including heating and cooling processes.
Many companies turn to MAN to explore
independent power-sourcing options. Solvay,
an international chemical group, was the first
MDT customer to install and start up a twoshaft
MGT6200 gas turbine at its production
facility in Rheinberg, Germany. Linked to a
generator and equipped with state-of-the-art
technical instrumentation, the compact and
highly efficient unit features six megawatts
of electrical and another 11 megawatts of thermal
performance and has since — together
with the already installed units from MDT —
rendered the Solvay facility almost completely
independent in terms of electrical power
needs. “With this eminently efficient gas turbine,
we have added another component to
our combined heat and power concept at our
production site,” emphasizes Richard Rösler,
Site Manager of Solvay in Rheinberg. As the
system also harnesses the turbine’s waste
heat, it reaches a high overall utilization rate
about 80 percent — thus saving emissions of
about 7,000 tons of CO 2 per year at just the
Rheinberg production site.
The new MGT gas turbine system provides
state-of-the-art reliability with a small
footprint. “Its size, very low maintenance demand
and short installation schedule makes
it suitable for flexible deployment anywhere
in the world, where decentralized power generation
is needed,” says Sven-Hendrik Wiers,
Vice President Gas Turbines, MAN Diesel &
Turbo in Oberhausen, Germany. “It can serve
as a back-up solution for sites with fluctuating
renewable energy input such as solar and
wind power or remote locations not easily
connected to larger grids.” During the MGTseries
development phase, MAN engineers invested
much time and effort in a particularly
clean combustion rate. The MGT6000 series
designed for both electricity generation as
well as a mechanical drive for compressors
and pumps reaches single-digit NO x values in
load levels of between 50 and 100 percent -
impressively proving that the new gas turbine
is not just highly efficient, but also an environmentally
conscious power producer.
With natural gas resources most likely secured
for decades, even coal traditionalists
such as China power producers are moving
toward cleaner fuels, global demand for gas
turbine-powered energy generation is growing
steadily and successful product introductions
such as a 50-hertz version for Solvay
serve to further strengthen the market position
of MAN Diesel & Turbo. “We are currently
developing a version for 60-hertz power grids
like those in the US and in Latin America,” reports
Wiers. “We might supply off-the-shelf
systems, but also work with our customers to
tailor solutions according to technical conditions
and individual power requirements.
Thus, we are just as flexible as our turbines.”
“Our gas turbines
can be deployed
anywhere for
decentralized
power generation.”
Sven-Hendrik Wiers, Vice President Gas Turbines,
MAN Diesel & Turbo
80 %
utilization
rate of natural gas results in outstanding
economic efficiency and 7,000 tons less
CO 2 emissions per year.
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